"Credit ratings agencies play a significant role in whether or not a company -- or a country -- falls into fiscal catastrophe. For now, they're all leaving Japan alone.

The three largest credit rating agencies have said that it's too early to decide whether the recent earthquake will lead to downgrades for Japanese sovereign debt. Fitch rates Japan AA, S&P AA-, and Moody's Aa2 and all three will remain unchanged for now."

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil was up over $2 on Thursday as tensions in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain fueled fears of further supply disruption while investors weighed the impact on energy demand from quake-hit Japan.

A relief rally that also took TLT under 93 would be perfect from my perspective...sold some calls there as a hedge. I have so enjoyed writing covered calls on TLT these last few months, I don't want to stop now.

gap up today is well within yesterdays range, odds are very high then it's just a pattern gap....iow, not significant. We'll want to look at breadth tonight though. Here's some ideas on when the d wave might end:

btw, considering that BAC, JPM etc etc lost money for only a handful of days last year, one might think it's important that instie distribution accelerated yesterday, it didn't trail off, it just got a lot larger.....

There is absolutely no scientific basis for my method, but my general rule for writing calls on dividend payers is to make sure the premium is commensurate with the dividend yield over the option life. If it is not, then no option gets written.

I put some protection on my SLV calls, it's a tiny little position anyway, they are a few months out still, short term there are some problems on that chart but zoomed out it's still bull market, we'll see if anything breaks if it becomes more ominous.

"Unless and until D.C. politicians are willing to adopt such dramatic, controversial and (some say) draconian measures, "they might as well go home and tell us to leave the country or just print money out the wazoo to pay these bills and leave us with hyperinflation," he laments. "That seems to be the game plan."

...I ain't inviting him to my next party, that's for sure...I think I'll see if Charlie Sheen is free..this guy is no fun.

Shit, 4th generation actually... I got an old picture of my great grampa with a stopwatch in his hand watching the punter warm up about 3 hrs before an Alabama game way back in the day. (Had to have been in the 30s.)

He used to clock the air time of punts before games, apparently that was his thing.

It's been clear for some time that the proposed agreement between the 50 state AG's and the banks and servicers is going to be a whitewash, a get-out-of-jail-free card, and an absolution of past sins all rolled into one. But the Calgary Herald reports comments made by Tim Geithner yesterday, which pretty much seals the deal. Geithner told the Senate Banking committee that a fraudclosure deal had to be reached quickly:

"It is very important that we try to bring this to bed as quickly as we can. I think all parties, not just the servicers, but the state AGs and the federal agencies have a strong stake in doing that. Shahien Nasiripour also reports that the state AG's have been working hand-in-glove with the Obama administration and the various regulatory agencies in crafting the deal with banks and servicers, with the administration calling it a "shock and awe" approach that would lead to a potential $30B in reduced mortgage payments...."http://dailybail.com/home/geithner-speaks-foreclosure-fraud-whitewash-agreement-coming.html

re: Tar Heel Blue, yes, though, What is up with the 'Love of Teal', in NC, as well?

But way cheaper... I like your $31 (but the way things seem to be going - and what's moving the markets with a potential yen carry debacle - if events play out to see $31, I'll probably like $28 better)...

I'd say it's a little like Jennifer alluded to above... "inside day" (not necessarily on a daily candle to candle comparison), but the notion of the BETA of the bounces (if you look Feb highs to this weeks lows)...

From ZH (and for all those "wondering" if there will be a QE18 or not)...

In an eerie recreation of the events that transpired during last year's flash crash, among the reasons for the spectacularly wide spreads during yesterday's dramatic yen surge (which was more than just a selloff of in the USDJPY but virtually all carry pairs as we pointed out previously) is that various brokers pulled away their entire market making in the currency. While the full list is those who turned the machines off is still unknown, one company is. According to Dow Jones, "Barclays Capital pulled yen prices off its Barx dealing system for a short period Wednesday, as the Japanese currency fizzed to its strongest levels on record, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday." The reason: "to protect themselves during hectic trading conditions" - but why, remember there is no more prop trading on Wall Street (wink wink). And had others followed suit in Barclays footsteps and withdrawn markets due to a stop loss triggered wipe out in the FX market, compounded by fundamental uncertainty, it is easy to see how the yen may well have surged far, far higher. Luckily, it did not happen this time, although the USDJPY is trading at all all time lows today. On the other hand, if the market, despite trillions in capital injected by the central planners is so jittery it can take out all bids in what is supposedly to be the world's most liquid market on literally a moment's notice, we wonder just what will happen if and when Bernanke announces the end of QE3 and we have a repeat crisis...

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"The Shawshank Redemption"

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This Blog's primary focus is on trading based upon technical analysis. It is run by "AmenRa" and "AndyT," quasi-anonymous traders who employ technical analysis to assess market conditions and trading opportunities. AmenRa utilizes 3LB techniques, Moving Averages and Fibonacci sequences. AndyT's analysis relies primarily on "Wave Theory" and Fibonacci sequences. The Comments Section is uncensored and open to the public. Please try and adhere to the "Blogger Policy."